Ten Minutes too Late
by Goldilocks775
Summary: Holtzmann's speech caused a lot of thought for Erin. Erin tries to learn more about her friend's past, but when a blood-thirsty ghost gets in the way, could she be too late?


Saving the world together makes you pretty close. How could it not? The four women had been possessed, thrown out of windows, pulled into ghost portals… They stuck together through thick and thin.

Erin was happy with her life. She had re-connected with Abby and made many new friends. She had a great job she loved doing, she made money, and she got to know people better and better.

But there was one person she felt she didn't know well enough.

Holtzmann, with all her quirks and eccentricities, her crazy blonde curls and her iconic yellow glasses.

She couldn't stop wondering about the little speech she made when the four went to get a celebration beer. What had she meant? Surely Abby wasn't her first friend?

"Abby." Erin asked, after pondering for hours.

"Yeah?"

"Did you… understand Holtzmann's speech?"

"How do you mean?" Abby asked.

"What did she mean by saying she didn't have any friends or family until she met you?"

Abby sighed. She lowered her glasses and cleaned them with the corner of her shirt. "I'm afraid you'll have to ask her."

"Why? You do know, don't you?" Erin asked, confused. She had thought that Abby knew Holtzmann as well as she knew Abby.

"…Yes. I do. But she doesn't like talking about certain things about her life. It would be unfair for me to tell you." She paused, and stared at Erin. "I'm sorry, Erin."

"No…no, it's okay. I'll go ask her now…"

"Okay. But remember, don't take it personally if she doesn't answer."

"Okay." Erin stood up. She smiled at Abby, and climbed the stairs to Holtz's lab.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Erin! To what do I owe this pleasure?" Holtzmann welcomed her, feet up on her table, contraption and screwdriver in hand.

"Hi, Holtz." Erin sat down at her desk.

Holtzmann shot Erin one of her huge, dimpled grins. "Hi, Erin." She said, using the same tone Erin did.

"Listen…"

"Yeahhhhh…" Holtz drawled.

"I was wondering…"

"Mmm-hmmm…"

Erin stopped talking and smiled at Holtz. Holtz blinked at her. Oh wow, she hoped that Holtzmann's past wasn't that bad. If anyone deserved a perfect life, it was Holtzmann.

"What? Don't let me keep you! Keep talking!"

"Okay. You know that speech you made when we were at the bar after the apocalypse?" Erin began.

"Yeah! I mean, that was one good beer. And your hair went back to normal too, I noticed."

Erin nodded. "Well, what did you mean by saying Abby was your first friend? Surely you had other friends?"

Holtzmann stopped tinkering with the ghost bomb. The grin slowly vanished from her face, and she lowered her eyes.

"No. Or family."

Erin felt a pang go through her. Holtzmann did not look like someone who wanted to talk.

After a long pause, Erin tentatively broke the silence. "…Holtz?"

Holtzmann seemed to come out of whatever trance she was in.

She looked up. "Please go." Erin felt tears prickling behind her eyes. What had she done?

"I'm sorry if I stirred bad memories…"

"Go. Please. Erin, I don't want to talk about this."

"Okay. I should probably go." Erin hurriedly pushed her chair out and made for the door.

Before turning the handle, she paused, waiting for Holtz to call her back, or to say something.

She never did.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Erin! I told you not to take it personally." Abby said, looking up when she heard Erin enter the room.

Seeing Erin's crestfallen face, Abby sighed. "What did she do?"

Erin looked up. "Nothing! She just looked down. Told me to leave. No jokes, no nothing. Did I do something wrong? Is she okay?"

"No, Erin, you did nothing wrong. Look, she's had a troubling past and it took several months of me knowing her before she told me." Abby sighed again. "It's not your fault. Please don't take it personally, I promise she'll tell you when she's ready."

"Okay. Alright." Erin said.

Abby waited for her to say something else, but she didn't.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"I'M BACK!" Patty yelled as she came through the door. The first thing she saw was Erin looking like someone had died.

"Yo, has your grandma died or somethin'?" Erin just stared at her blankly.

"Oh damn, your grandma hasn't really died, has she?"

"What? Oh, no, all my grandparents died years ago."

"Um… well, who died then? You look like someone's carked it."

Erin rolled her eyes. "No-one's died, Patty."

"Okay then! That's great!" Patty grinned, and Erin smiled back.

"Where's Abby and Holtz? I got lunch." Patty said, holding up the bag of Chinese food.

"Abby is at her desk at Holtz is… in her lab."

Patty raised an eyebrow at Erin's weird tone. "Okay then. I got you that rice-chicken thing you like. Here." Patty handed her a container.

"Thanks." Erin smiled. "Wow, I'm hungry."

Patty gave her a thumbs up. Turning away, she screamed up the stairs "HOLTZ! I GOT FOOD!"

"Okay!" She heard from the lab. Turning in the other direction, she screamed "ABBY! CHINESE!"

"Patty! Shush!" Abby walked in the room. "I'm literally right there!"

Erin laughed. "Oops." Patty chuckled. "Sorry Abs."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"HOLTZMANN!" Abby yelled up the stairs.

"Abby! Shush! I'm literally RIGHT HERE!" Holtz yelled back as she came down the stairs. She had, of course, heard the conversation minutes before, and why waste a golden opportunity?

Abby huffed. "Go eat. You've only eaten Pringles today."

Holtzmann stared at her for a second, before breaking into a huge grin. "What's wrong with that?"

She plonked herself down at the table. "Why're we eating down here, anyway?" She said, going through the bag and pulling out a random noodle dish. "I always eat in the lab."

"Exactly." Abby said.

She rolled her eyes. "Kay."

She turned back around and saw Erin staring at her. She quickly averted her eyes to the food.

"How are you not sick of Chinese, Abby? Every day, Abby! You eat it every day!" Holtzmann stated, waving a plastic fork in the air wildly.

"How are _you_ not sick of Pringles? You have _them_ every day!" Abby retorted.

Holtz blinked. "Touche."

She sat down and dug in.

"So, Holtz, what you been doin' up there all day?" Patty said, gesturing upstairs to the lab.

"I've been working on an upgrade for the ghost bombs. I think if I increase the energy ever so slightly we'll get more than just a medium poof." She slammed her hand on the table for emphasis. " _Bam_! Bye bye ghostie!"

"Holtz, the bombs are really strong already. Really." Abby said.

"Yeah, any more power added to those little babies and you'll blow _us_ up, not the ghosts!" Patty said.

Holtzmann rolled her eyes. "Hey, where's Kev?" She needed to take the attention off of her in case she said something she regretted, not unlike ten minutes ago with Erin.

On cue, a bang and loud cursing came from the other room. "There he is." Patty said, rolling her eyes.

0o0o0o0o0o

"Kevin! Want some food?" Abby asked.

Kevin rushed into the room, flapping his arms. "No time for food, bosses! A ghost needs capturing!"

"And where is this ghost, my friend?" Holtzmann asked him. "And how would you classify it?"

"A big old house." He gave them the address.

"What kind of ghost, Kevin?" Erin asked.

"Um… the caller was screaming. So I think it might be a big angry one."

"Okay, guys, you heard the man! Big angry ghost! Suit up!" Holtzmann yelled joyfully, running out of the room, chopsticks in hand.

"Class four or five, I'd say." Abby said to Patty and Erin. They nodded and followed Holtzmann, leaving Kevin alone with the food.

"Yum." He said, and tucked in to Abby's abandoned wontons.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Erin scrambled in her locker, yanking her suit off the hanger. She hurriedly pulled it on.

"Hurry up!" Holtzmann yelled from the doorway, ready before the others. They all jumped.

"Come on, Erin." Abby pulled her by the elbow. She gladly followed.

They rushed to the car.

"Don't eat all the food on us while we gone!" Patty yelled over her shoulder at Kevin.

There was a muffled reply, something along the lines of "I won't!" or "Too late!". Probably the latter.

Erin jumped in the car, next to Patty. Holtzmann was driving. She joyfully turned on the siren.

"WOOHOO!" She screamed happily, causing the others to jump. Erin smiled, and wondered how someone with such an apparently bad past could be so happy.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Okay guys. I say we split up." Abby said when they arrived at the large mansion.

"I dibs Erin." Holtzmann said, which surprised Abby. Erin too, judging by the confused look on her face.

Holtzmann winked at Abby, which in the Holtzmann language meant "It's all good." Or she was flirting, but Abby knew it was the former.

"Okay Abs, looks like I'm with you." Patty said. Abby nodded.

"Yeah. Okay then, guys, if you see anything just do what we usually do." Abby held up the walkie-talkie and jiggled it around.

"Right-o." Holtzmann said in a fake British accent.

Erin looked at Abby anxiously when Holtzmann turned around. "It's okay." Abby mouthed at her. Erin looked considerably more relaxed, but still quite nervous.

"Well, bye then." She said nervously, and followed Holtzmann down the hallway.

Patty and Abby took the opposite hallway.

"Hey, Abby, what's got Erin looking so concerned?" Patty asked.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it." Abby replied, waving it off. "She's just... in one of her moods."

"Okay." Patty answered.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Holtzmann led the way down the dark, dusty hallway.

Erin followed cautiously. There was a massive, gaping hole in the wall.

"Either that's one angry ghost or the owners don't like looking after the house." Holtzmann said.

Erin punctuated the statement with a sneeze. "Well, they sure don't like cleaning." She answered, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

Holtz chuckled. She then sighed inwardly. She felt terrible for ignoring Erin before, but she just didn't feel ready to talk about her past.

They heard an ominous creak. The two of them jumped.

Holtzmann started humming a funeral march. "Holtzmann!" Erin whisper-yelled. "Shush!"

"Roger that." Holtz whispered back.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Patty jogged down into a filthy room with Abby. "Ghost or no ghost, this place needs a serious spring clean."

"I agree." Abby said in disgust. "Eeeew." She exclaimed, stepping over a dead cockroach.

"Are you _sure_ anybody lives in this house? Cos it sure don't look like anyone does." Patty said.

Abby pulled a face in reply.

"Abs. I really don't think Erin is in one of her moods." Patty said after a while.

Abby sighed. "Patty, I'm sorry, but it isn't her business and it isn't really mine or yours either."

"…What do you mean?"

"Okay. Well, you know Holtzmann's speech? The one after the apocalypse?"

"When we all got drunk and gave Kevin a whipped cream moustache?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, I know the one."

Abby laughed. "Well, Erin didn't really understand the better part of it."

"Ahh. I'm guessing she asked Holtz, and Holtz didn't tell her, and now she's upset?"

"Um… yeah." Abby looked at Patty. "How did you guess?"

"My big sis said I should have been a psychologist. I know people."

"You would actually be a pretty good psychologist." Abby said, giving it some thought.

Patty shrugged. "I guess."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Holtz?" Erin whispered tentatively.

"Yeahhhh?"

"Look, I'm really sorry about earlier, it was really none of my business and it's absolutely fine for you not to tell me and I get that."

Holtzmann shushed her. "It's okay. You have every right to be curious."

Erin let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"No problem." Holtz answered.

They walked in silence for a little while, keeping an ear out for anything paranormal.

After a while, Holtzmann talked again. "I was abandoned as a baby and was put in the foster system."

"Oh god. Holtzy… that must have been terrible."

Holtzmann nodded. "Yeah."

"Were you ever adopted?"

"Yes. Three times. First time I was seven and the family didn't like me cos' I set the dinner table on fire too many times. Most of the times whilst we were eating dinner."

Erin giggled.

Holtzmann continued. "The second time I was ten and my pet tarantula escaped and tap danced on the mother's head."

Erin giggled again. "What about the third time?"

"They died. Car accident."

Erin gasped, looking horrified. "I'm so sorry Holtz. How old were you?"

"Well, they were actually the first people who adopted me. When I was but a wee little toddler. I was six when they died."

Erin hugged her. "That must have been awful."

"I guess… I don't really remember them that well. I was really little."

"Still…it must have been terrible."

"I guess." Holtz said.

Before Erin could say anything else, the walkie-talkie crackled.

" _You guys see anything?"_ Abby's voice came out of the little device.

" _Nope, you?"_ Holtz replied.

" _Not yet. Just thought we'd check in."_

" _Cool bananas."_

" _Yo guys! How big is this damn house?"_ Patty's loud voice made the walkie-talkie crackle. Erin grinned at Holtz, who stuck out her tongue.

" _I know!"_

" _Ok, signing out!"_

" _See ya."_ Holtzmann put the walkie-talkie back in her pocket.

"Let's go." Erin said. They walked into yet another room.

And there was the ghost. Waiting for them.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Abby kept one hand on the walkie-talkie and one hand on the proton gun. Patty kept both hands on the proton gun.

"Well, I hope there actually was a ghost, cos if not we just wasted the better part of an afternoon."

"Yeah. If it doesn't make an appearance soon, well, screw it. I'm hungry."

The walkie-talkie crackled and Erin's frantic voice filled the room.

" _Guys we found the ghost and it's chucking Holtzmann around the room and my proton isn't strong enough to contain it! I'd say class six or maybe even class seven! Hurry!"_

Abby and Patty looked at each other before springing into action and running back in the direction they came.

"Shit! Hang on Erin! We're coming. Which room was it?"

" _It was the east wing! Third hall down! You'll know which room!"_

"Okay! Hold on, we're coming!" Abby yelled. They heard Holtzmann yelling in the background

" _Hurry!"_ Erin screamed, sounding terrified.

They rushed off. "I've never heard Erin sound so scared! We gotta go!' Patty panted as they ran along countless corridors.

"Me either! Let's go!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o

They weren't too sure what the ghost was, exactly. It was a shapeshifter.

Like Rowan.

Erin was terrified. The entity was throwing Holtz around the room, slamming her into the walls and then ground.

She intensified the power of the proton stream, but the ghost was too fast for her to hit it and it was too risky with Holtzmann so close to it.

The ghost bombs would be sufficient, except Holtzmann had them in her pockets and the ghost wasn't letting her reach them.

Erin ran in circles, scrambling through her pockets in desperate search for something, _anything_ that could help her. She had no ghost bombs, but she found the pocket knife Holtzmann gave her.

But even though a Swiss Army Knife was excellent for demented balloons, it wasn't good for a regular ghost.

"ERIIIIIIIIN!" Holtzmann yelled. "ABBY HAS- _SHIT-_ SOME BOMBS! WE NEED ABBYYYYY!"

"I know Holtz! They're coming!"

Erin yelled into the walkie-talkie "GUYS! WE NEED HELP! NOW!"

On cue, Abby and Patty burst into the room.

"BOMBS!" Abby yelled.

"HANG TIGHT, HOLTZY!" Patty yelled.

Holtzmann yelled a very bad swear word at the ghost.

The ghost, apparently, didn't like this very much, so it threw Holtzmann out the window.

She screamed as she flew through the air. So did the others.

"Jillian!" Erin yelled. Patty just screamed. Abby swore.

Abby threw the bomb at the ghost and finally they were able to control the ghost, all the proton beams forcing it into the containment cylinder.

"Call an ambulance!" Erin yelled, tears pouring down her face. She ran out of the room, and down the stairs and through the halls.

Patty pulled her phone out of her pocket and started dialling.

Abby ran to the window.

Holtzmann was sprawled out on a car, arms and legs at weird angles, hair fallen out of her usual style and covering her face.

"Oh shit."

She grabbed Patty's arm. "Come on!"

They ran. By the time they got outside, Erin was already ahead.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Erin rushed to Holtzmann's side. She brushed her Holtz's hair off her face and frantically felt for a pulse.

Thankfully, she found one, slow but steady. After she was sure Holtz was alive, she finally allowed herself to catch her breath.

Abby and Patty ran up to the car.

Erin looked at them. She hadn't even realised she had climbed onto the roof to Holtzmann. Heck, she hadn't even realised they were on a car, she was just focused on Holtzy being okay.

"She's alive." Erin said.

Patty and Abby simultaneously sighed with relief. They sat down.

Erin inspected Holtz's injuries.

There was a nasty gash on her temple. Her arms and legs were all at weird angles, but they seemed okay. There was blood pouring out of her nose and she had two black eyes, and also a deep cut on her collarbone.

Erin didn't know how long they sat in silence. It was probably only five or so minutes, but it felt like a thousand years had passed before they finally heard sirens. The paramedics had a stretcher, and they gently lifted Holtzmann onto it after putting a foam block around her neck.

They said something about possible spinal damage but Erin only vaguely heard. She was in a daze.

She remembers hearing Abby shout something at the paramedics. She remembers Patty gently pulling her towards the hearse.

Everything else is just an anxious blur.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

They drive in silence.

Abby drives, still fuming that the paramedics wouldn't let her go in the back with Holtzmann.

They followed the ambulance to the hospital, both vehicles with blaring sirens.

Erin is blankly staring at the back of the seat. She hadn't said a word since "She's alive." Patty was in the back seat with her.

When they finally got to the hospital, they were taken to the waiting room. Abby paced anxiously, constantly nagging at the doctors.

"Can we see her now?"

"How is she?"

"Is she okay?"

"When can we see her?"

"We are her friends! We want to go see her!"

"We want to see her!"

"Let us in."

"Can we see her now?"

"I have a right to know if she's okay!"

"I want to see Holtzmann!"

"Fuck off!"

Patty eventually had to sit her down. Abby's face was red and furious. Patty apologised to the doctor.

Erin finally seemed to come back to earth. She stood up and walked over to the doctor.

"Can we see her now?"

Patty sighed and gave up as Abby went back to nagging the doctor with Erin.

She was really concerned about Holtzy, of course she was, but she knew annoying doctors wasn't the right way to go about it. So she sat down, picked up a random magazine and tried to read it.

The words fflew off the page and she heard Abby and Erin shouting obscene things at the poor doctor. Their voices mingled together and it was truly terrifiying.

"You may see her now."

She stood up abruptly, magazine falling to the floor, and she rushed after her friends and the nurse who led them to their friend.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Erin knew she probably shouldn't have screamed at that poor man. She knew Abby probably regretted it too, but their anxiety had got the better of them and they just needed someone to shout at. Unfortunately, that person was a doctor.

Abby squeezed her hand as they walked into the room. Erin squeezed her hand back.

Holtzmann was laying in the bed, extremely pale. The gashes on her temple and collarbone were stitched up, and her ankle was plastered and elevated.

"Is she okay?" Patty asked the doctor, thankfully a different one to the one that Erin and Abby swore at.

"Yes. She is unconscious for now, but she should wake up tomorrow or thereabouts. Her ankle is broken, but there isn't any spinal damage apart from several bruises. She has multiple cuts but we have either bandaged or stitched them, and they most likely won't scar."

All three women breathed out in relief. She was going to be okay.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"We should probably call Kevin." Abby broke the silence that they had been sitting in for over an hour.

"Yeah." Answered Patty.

"We probably should." Erin said.

But none of them made a move for their phone.

Holtzmann hadn't stirred.

A nurse came in. "You should probably go get some sleep, or at least some coffee. She probably won't wake for a while." He said, checking Holtzmann's heartbeat.

"Okay." Abby said. "Thank you."

"Okay… Well, can you call us if she wakes?" Erin asked the nurse.

He smiled. "Of course."

"We'll come back in a few hours, kay Holtzy?" Patty said pointlessly.

"Should one of us stay?" Abby asked the nurse.

"You can if you want, but it would probably be better if you all got some sleep. If she wakes we'll call you." He said.

The three looked at each other.

"I'm going to stay. Can you bring me fresh clothes or something when you come back?" Erin asked them.

"Sure." Abby said. She and Patty headed out the door. "We'll be back in a couple of hours."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Erin stared at Holtzmann and willed herself not to fall asleep. The same nurse from before came back in.

"Hello." Erin said.

"Hi." He checked Holtz over again. "You could have gone, you know."

Erin sighed. "I know." She yawned. "But I didn't want to."

The nurse smiled. Erin read his name tag. 'Eric'. It said.

"So are you two like, a couple?" He asked her, gesturing to Holtzmann.

"What?"

"Are you two dating?"

"No. We're just co-workers and good friends." Erin said.

"Okay. Sorry for assuming… Just the way you looked at her. Lovingly."

Erin thought about that for a long time after he left. Did she really look at Holtzmann lovingly?

Her phone beeped.

 _Patty: We're heading over now. U ok?_

She read the text and yawned.

 _Erin: Yeah. Just tired._

 _Patty: Well, you can always leave when we get there._

 _Erin: No._

 _Patty: Ok. Kev's coming too. Has she stirred yet?_

 _Erin: No._

 _Patty: Ok. Well, we will c u soon, kk?_

 _Erin: Ok. Bye._

 _Patty: Bye._

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Abs." Patty said.

"Yeah?" Abby answered, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Do you think Erin likes Holtzy? And vice-versa?"

Abby sighed. "Maybe. It's hard to know with Erin, and Holtzy sorta just flirts with everyone.

"D'you think there's something there, though?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I guess." Abby said uncertainly.

"You don't sound too sure."

"I honestly don't know… we could just ask Erin when we get there."

"Will do."

They drove in silence after that, apart from Kevin singing along to the songs on the radio.

When they got there, they picked up a coffee for Erin and headed straight up, where they found Erin dozing against the back of her chair.

"Er-bear." Abby poked her in the shoulder.

She jerked awake with a surprisingly loud snort. "Huh? Oh. Hi."

"We brang you coffee." Patty said.

Her face lit up, and they noticed the dark bags underneath her eyes. "You brought me coffee!"

"We did indeed." Abby said, handing it to her.

She chugged half of it down and yelped when it burnt her throat. "Shit." She said.

"Hello Erin!" Kevin said.

"Hi, Kevin." She answered.

"I… I ate your Chinese food. All of it."

Erin laughed. "Okay."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Holtzmann heard voices in her head. She saw her parents standing above her. "Hello, Jillian." They said. "Let's go to the science museum!"

She heard herself answer in a little-girl voice. She looked at herself. Her hair was in two braids and she was wearing a yellow winter dress and a white coat.

"Okay!" She said.

They all got in the car, and at the museum she had a blast. She learnt about planets and chemistry and when they went into the gift shop she begged them to buy her a pair of yellow goggles.

They did.

If they hadn't spent ten minutes in the gift store, they would have been ten minutes ahead of the traffic, and ten minutes ahead of the truck.

Ten minutes would have saved their lives. And it was all her fault. It was her fault her parents were dead, only six years after adopting her. She was only six and she was the reason her parents were dead!

Holtzmann felt the rumble of the incoming truck. It hadn't seen their small car.

She felt herself go airbourne. She heard her parents' screams. She heard her own scream.

She felt the pain of her wrist snapping, and a massive noise filled her ears.

She woke up in the hospital, alone.

She saw her parents standing over her, now adult, smiling and stroking her face.

Then she woke up.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Holtzmann!" Erin burst into tears of relief, and so did Patty.

Abby grinned so much her cheeks hurt. Holtzmann blinked and grinned back. "Hi." She croaked.

A doctor held water to her lips. "Is she okay now, Doc?" Patty asked.

"Well, she'll have to stay in the hospital for about a week but then she should be free to go." She said. "It's a miracle that your injuries weren't more severe. Being thrown from such a great height… with such force… you must have some angels looking out for you."

Holtzmann smiled. "You could say that."

 **There will be a sequel. I'll try to write a sequel soon.**

 **Ahhhhh! Ghostbusters! They have taken over my brain. I am obsessed.**

 **Please review!**


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